Windows Defender to the rescue for Superfish ridden PCs

Updated anti-virus program removes Superfish

Microsoft is taking the fight to Lenovo's Superfish bug by using the Windows Defender anti-virus software to remove it from PCs.

Any users worried that Superfish has infected their Windows PC are instructed to update to the newest version of Windows Defender and then carry out a virus scan as soon as possible to remove it.

Superfish was first discovered earlier on this week with users on the company forums reporting that the adware had been hijacking browsers and inserting third-party ads onto Google searches without the PC owner's permission.

How many fishy PCs are there?

Superfish works by using self-signed certificates to trick browsers into displaying the ads and, rather worryingly, one forum poster reported that the program intercepted a connection to their bank thus opening up the chance for Superfish to collect sensitive personal data being sent.

Lenovo later clarified that Superfish is no longer on consumers laptops after it was removed from the preloads of new consumer systems in January 2015 and it's currently unknown how many laptops containing the bug are still on the market.